I think I'm a part of the first generation of journalists to skip print media entirely, and I've learned a lot these last few years at Forbes. My work has appeared on TVOvermind, IGN, and most importantly, a segment on The Colbert Report at one point. Feel free to follow me on Twitter or on Facebook, write me on Facebook or just email at paultassi(at)gmail(dot)com. I'm also almost finished with my sci-fi novel series, The Earthborn Trilogy.

Why We Need More Telltales And Quantic Dreams

Telltale Games is a busy studio. They’re in the second season of their critically acclaimed Walking Dead series, and are up to episode three of modern fairy tale fable, The Wolf Among Us. Past that, they have upcoming games set in both the Game of Thrones and Borderlands universes, and who only knows when either will see the light of day given their packed schedule.

I love Telltale Games (and subsequently Telltale’s games), though I can’t help but wish they had a bit more competition in this emerging genre of “interactive story-based games.” That may sound like every game ever, but most will know what I’m referring to. These are games based mostly on dialogue and character development, with action as a secondary (or sometimes nonexistent) component.

To me, story games have always felt like a genre that deserves not only to be another pillar of gaming, but another pillar of entertainment. It’s a unique combination of movies, TV, games and books. You can have a sprawling 12 hour interactive movie like Heavy Rain, or episodic/chapter-based series like The Walking Dead or The Wolf Among Us.

But no matter which one, the experience feels like something unique outside of both gaming and visual media. It’s why often these games are accused of “not being games” at all. I actually think that’s an accurate statement, because often times, there are few “game” aspects to them. But that’s okay.

I think there’s room in the industry for more than just two major studios making titles in this genre. We have the aforementioned Telltale, who has a full plate given how successful their past games have been, and we have Quantic Dream, who makes a new movie-style game once every few years, but the gaps between their titles are painfully long. Occasionally you have new entrants putting a different spin on story games like Gone Home, or you have “game” games with story elements thrown in amongst traditional action (Mass Effect, LA Noire). But overall, there’s a distinct lack of these kinds of games being released regularly, and that should really change.

Telltale is great, but I’d really love to see them branch out a bit, or have other companies step in and try to compete with them. It’s going to be a bit weird if their cartoony animation style starts to span four separate universes, and I’d love if more studios made us of the incredible power of mo-cap for story games like Quantic Dream.

Even a “bad” Quantic Dream game (arguably, Beyond Two Souls) is still a great experience to me just because it’s so unique, and shows a potential in gaming I don’t see through traditional shooters and sandbox games. And I think there’s some untapped wellspring of interest when time and time again, the only titles my non-gamer wife is interested in have been Heavy Rain and Beyond, both of which she spend 12-15 hours playing, all the way through to the end. I can’t get her to play more than ten minutes of Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty, or even Hearthstone or Portal, but she devours these story-heavy, gameplay-light games like no other. It really seems like it could be an entirely separate genre of media, if only more companies would invest in those kinds of experiences.

Bioware writer Jennifer Hepler started an internet firestorm when she talked about how important story was to a game, and how she didn’t actually like the “game” part all that much, wishing she could fast-forward through combat sections. Perhaps an ill-advised thing to say given her position at the time, but what she’s saying is exactly what my wife feels as well. And so do I, even if I can also enjoy “traditional” gaming experiences.

What if there was a Mass Effect game that featured little to no combat? What if you weren’t forced to mow down 200 Cerberus troops just to get to the next interesting plot point? Too often games feel like books that contain really good content, but then they’re split up by mindless action before your mind can really settle on the story. An example I’ve often used is to say it’s like reading Moby Dick, but every twenty pages there’s a 50 page fight scene with pictures where Ahab fights off a hundred whales, sharks and octopi. It would sort of ruin the flow, and I find that happening in many games these days (flashbacks to the BioShock Infinite ultraviolence saga).

This isn’t to say traditional games should cease to exist, or these story games should replace them. I think there’s absolutely room for both given how much gaming is expanding. This also doesn’t mean that games should be turned into 3 to 10 hour cutscenes. Interactivitiy and decision making are key in these story games. It’s what makes The Walking Dead: The Game more compelling than The Walking Dead: The Show in my eyes. You are making the decisions and protecting these people, you’re not watching Rick Grimes do it. Taking away too much interactivity would lose what makes these games unique (though I’m all for scaling back quick-time events in games like these).

The point is, given how much people anticipate the next Quantic Dream release, or celebrate every time Telltale takes a new series under their wing, we should have many, many more studios making games in this genre. It’s a wholly unique way to tell a story, and one that isn’t being utilized nearly as much as it should be. Mark my words, I don’t know how many years it will take, but I think someday “interactive stories” will be a powerful force in entertainment right alongside movies, TV and traditional games.

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.

Comments

“Even a “bad” Quantic Dream game (arguably, Beyond Two Souls) is still a great experience to me just because it’s so unique…”

***

Of course the logic here is that you like such games because they are the exception to the usual types of titles that are brought out. But would you like them quite as much if a dozen or so such games were being churned out each year?

You can’t really have ‘unique’ in one hand and ‘mass produced’ in the other.

****

“It’s why often these games are accused of “not being games” at all. I actually think that’s an accurate statement, because often times, there are few “game” aspects to them. But that’s okay.” ***

I suspect that this is a limitation of language at work. We tend to view any program as either being a ‘game’ – that is used for fun. Or as a ‘business’ program – that is used for things that most people don’t find all that fun, such as spreadsheets and word processors.

Personally I think it would be somewhat more accurate to list ‘Games’ as a sub-genre of ‘entertainment software’, the latter would also include things like DVD/music players.

Of course when it comes to entertainment one persons fun is another’s torture. Some people like to watch or read Game of Thrones, while I find it only slightly preferable to being hit between the legs with a hammer. Some will like Call of Duty while others would much rather be playing The Witcher.

Hell, there are probably people out there who find using spreadsheets fun and interesting. (These people should be avoided at all costs…)

The best part about Mass Effect 2 was the last suicide mission, where I actually kept all my guys alive, because I cared enough to buy all the best kit and know them well enough to give them the best suiting tasks. That type of input into a story is, for me, the most rewarding. Telltale games are showing their cracks a little bit, where players are noticing their choices aren’t really affecting the story as much as we were led to believe.

I absolutely agree for this reason that competition would be beneficial! Anything to get them to give their great formula a sprucing up. I think if the GoT and Borderlands titles turn up with exactly the same mechanics, a lot of people will be disappointed, myself included.

I would rather Telltale be the sole creator of these kinds of games rather than have many other studios try their hand at it and fail miserably. This is one genre that should be left alone rather than having the “Industry” part of the game industry work it’s magic, getting multiple studios churning out yearly “cinematic experiences” and/or monthly/bi-monthly episodic releases to oversaturate the market.

I think interactive stories are probably more risky products than traditional games (which are pretty risky themselves) as if the story or acting fails there is not much else to fall back on, (and with game development you can’t do quick rewrites or major changes without great costs and delays) while you can enjoy the game-play of a game with a bad story, or keep slogging through average gameplay on a game with an engaging story.

Basically it would have the same risks as a novel, film, or tv series might, so the writers involved would have to really raise their game (no pun!). If they could be produced and sold for less than a traditional game, people might be willing to take the risk on trying new things. The other thing of course is they are likely to be shorter than a normal game and episodic, so that would change the economics.

As for the demand I think it will increase over time, as today’s gamers get older and have less time to sink into games, but still want that kind of experience.

Competition would probably work a bit differently to traditional gaming as your not going to have as much franchise rivalry (you can enjoy star trek and star wars, ect) though of course quality standards would be raised.

As long as the other developers do a great job I would LOVE to see more games of this genre happen!! i liked video games probably as much as any other kid growing up but i never really got into shooters or more “traditional games” once i hit my teens. Now in my late 20′s i really have found a new love for gaming with titles like Walking Dead, Wolf Among Us, Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls (I actually really liked the game actually) just a week ago i packed up my PS3 to take to my friend Hannah’s house so we could play the newest episode of Walking Dead (Which i think is one million times better than the show!) I’ve Always felt that the story should be he most important thing to any game, which is why i mainly only played Metal Gear Solid games past the age of 11 and really stopped playing games until my brother in-law let me borrow his Vita to play Persona 4 Golden then bought The Walking Dead Game season 1 for Christmas last year! i feel as though there are other developers that could do very well with the genre! Atlus released Catherine which was very Story driven! the only gameplay involved a puzzle that had to be completed every night of the game! They also did Great with Persona 4 Golden which i know is an RPG and probably falls under the visual novel category a bit more, but has the maybe the most incredible story of any game I’ve ever played! Also your choices in Persona 4 can make a HUGE difference in the games outcome! The Zero Escape series is also in that visual novel genre and has almost no gameplay what so ever (aside from the occasional puzzle that would be ridiculously challenging) but i was hooked by its story within seconds of it starting! I think thats what makes the Telltale and Quantic Dream games so amazing is that they draw you in and really make you want to know whats going to happen!

I just read this and this article is fantastic! You very clearly address my same feelings on these kinds of games. I would love to see a follow up article since the release of Life is Strange. Particularly your thoughts what sort of affect you think it will have since it is a slightly different mix than games by these studios and then also how people that don’t play traditional games (like your wife in this article) have reacted to it. For me it’s one of the first games in a long time I have wanted to tell my friends that don’t play games about. Anyways, love your articles so keep it up!